Magazine Salesman Imposter Steals Packages from Porches

Last week, NBC Memphis aired a news story about a thief who was stealing packages right off front porches in a Memphis neighborhood. Little did the thief know that Memphis neighbors quickly banded together on Nextdoor to share information and warn each other to be on the lookout for certain behaviors.

The man, who posed as a magazine salesman, went knocking door-to-door. When no one answered at a residence, he quickly grabbed packages and ran. Fortunately for the neighborhood, the man underestimated the neighbors he was stealing from. One neighbor caught the man on his surveillance cameras and posted the footage on Nextdoor. He immediately alerted his neighbors to be on the lookout.

“Within an hour of my Nextdoor posting, I had three or four people in the neighborhood who had seen him,” says Tracy Wiswall, Lead of Nextdoor Central Gardens.

Just a week later, another neighbor spotted the man, recognized him from the surveillance footage on Nextdoor, and promptly called Memphis Police. The thief was quickly arrested – and neighbors in this Memphis neighborhood could breathe a sigh of relief.

“It’s all about levels of security,” Tracy says. “If you have an alarm system, a dog, a security company, a neighborhood network of people that are looking out for each other – all of that is what makes your neighborhood safer.”

Our hats are off to these intrepid neighbors in Memphis, whose quick thinking and information sharing helped the police identify and arrest the suspect.